Due date for Halo 3 on the Xbox 360 uncertain

Will there be "Halo 3" for Microsoft's next-generation Xbox 360? No question. In time for the holidays? Maybe not.

David Hufford, Xbox group product manager for Microsoft, said in an interview this week that "Halo 3" for Xbox 360 is a certainty. "I think people would expect that, don't you?" he said.

But because the launch game lineup for the new console is being held mostly under wraps until Microsoft's press conference at the Electronic Entertainment Expo this week, he was more cagey about the timeframe.

There has been widespread speculation that a revamped, prettified version of Microsoft's best-selling "Halo 2" will be ready for the Xbox 360 launch come fall, with better graphics, a bit more content and perhaps a tweak to the game's online play. That makes "Halo 3" a post-launch title, possibly ready in time for the holidays, possibly not.